Helpful tips for use of the comma.

I hope you enjoy my punctuation tip on the importance of the comma! I have avoided using the grammatical language to explain the rules but, if you like to know the correct terms, there are many grammar websites you can consult.

The use of commas can help or hinder meaning as seen in the examples below.

1.

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires 2 shots into the air. “Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda goes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. “I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.” The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, reads, “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.” (Lynne Truss 2003).

2. Consider the difference in meaning between;

She got up, quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

She got up quickly, got dressed and went downstairs.

So, commas are important. If wrongly placed, they may cause misunderstanding.

Possibly commas confuse us because there are so many rules for using them. Even professional writers struggle with commas. In theory, we all know what a comma is, it’s a pause between parts of a sentence. However, in practice, it can be difficult to be sure of whether a comma is needed or not. So, we add commas where they don’t fit, forget them when we need them, and treat them as a means of fixing over-long sentences.

Below I have listed four typical uses of the comma, so that you can apply these rules to your writing. In future blogs we will tackle the more complex or unusual rules for comma usage.

Four Common Uses of Commas.

1. In lists. E.g. My favourite fruits are strawberry, peach, orange and pineapple.

This is probably the most well-known use of the comma. A comma is used to separate all items of the list except the last two where we use ‘and’. This is where the writer has a choice; you can use a comma before ‘and’ or you can omit it. This means both the following sentences are correct:

The recipe needs flour, eggs, sugar and vanilla.

The recipe needs flour, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.

2. Joining 2 complete sentences. E.g. I wanted to go to the Hurricanes match, but the tickets had all sold out.

Both parts (clauses) of the above sentence would make sense on their own, but the writer wants to join them together to make the writing more interesting. The two clauses are joined together by using a ‘conjunction’ or joining word.

3. After an introductory phrase. E.g. Grabbing her bag, Kate ran downstairs and out of the door.

The introductory phrase would not make sense on its own and usually starts with an ‘ing’ word. By using the introductory phrase, the writer makes the sentence more dynamic than if it were written as follows: Kate grabbed her bag, ran downstairs and out of the door.

4. Commas in pairs. E.g. The staff room, which is usually busy at 10.30am, has been closed for cleaning since Tuesday.

The information between the commas can be removed and the sentence will still make sense. The extra information is to add something more, but it isn’t necessary for our understanding of the main sentence. We often see this kind of clause beginning with ‘which’.

I hope this gives you some confidence in using commas and may your punctuation always make sense!

Reference.

Truss, L. (2003). Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Profile Books.